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Raising Steam
Raising Steam is the finale of the Moist von Lipwig trilogy in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Plot Dick Simnel, a young self-taught engineer from Sto Lat (and whose father, Ned Simnel, appeared in Reaper Man), has invented a steam locomotive named Iron Girder. He brings his invention to Ankh-Morpork where it catches the interest of Sir Harry King, a millionaire businessman who has made his fortune in the waste and sanitation industry. Harry promises Dick sufficient investment to make the railway a success. The Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, Lord Vetinari, wishing to ensure that the City has appropriate influence over the new enterprise, appoints the reformed fraudster turned civil servant Moist von Lipwig to represent the government in the management of the railway. His personal skills soon come in useful in negotiations with landowners along the route of the new line. Throughout the story, Dwarfish fundamentalists are responsible for a number of terrorist attacks, including the murder of railway workers engaged in building the new line as well as arson attacks on the towers belonging to the clacks telecommunications network. This campaign culminates in a palace coup at the seat of the Low King of the Dwarfs in Schmaltzberg, Überwald, whilst the King is away at an international summit in Quirm, over twelve hundred miles away. Vetinari declares that it is imperative to return the King to Schmaltzberg as soon as possible in order to restore political stability, and gives Moist the task of getting him there via the new railway. Moist protests that this is impossible because the railway is nowhere near its completion, but is told that achieving this target is non-negotiable. On the journey, Moist and Vimes are faced by various problems, such as numerous attacks by Dwarfish fundamentalists, a poor attempt at infiltration, a landslide, and the revelation that the Low King is in fact a pregnant female. Nevertheless, the train eventually reaches the bridge, which has been badly damaged. Faced with a bridge that is clearly too weak to carry the train, and insufficient time or workers to strengthen it, Moist commandeers the City's ancient golems, which are kept strictly for use only in times of national emergency. He does this is in spite of being expressly forbidden to use them by Vetinari (who knows that Moist has the necessary expertise to command the golems and, if he were so inclined orchestrate a coup with them under his control). Having tunnelled their way to the site of the bridge, the golems, concealed by mist in the gorge below, somehow contrive to carry the train safely across. The Dwarf King retakes Schmaltzberg with little resistance, and the leader of the fundamentalists is held for trial. Feeling that the dwarfs are ready for a more progressive future, the King reveals that she is actually a Queen, and changes her name from Rhys to Blodwen, in honor of a dwarf who had been killed by the fundamentalists at her wedding. Following this announcement, a number of other senior dwarfs also "come out" as female. Back in Ankh-Morpork, Dick Simnel is knighted, Harry King receives a peerage, and the City Watch officers who helped defend the train receive medals, whereas Moist, upon questioning why he appears to be the only one not receiving a reward, is told that his reward is to remain alive. It is also revealed that Vetinari himself had been on the train, disguised as one of the locomotive's stokers, while his lookalike Charlie impersonated him back in Ankh-Morpork, and had surmised how the train had been carried across the ravine. However, he appears content that there is no evidence to prove this. Themes The main theme in the novel is the development of the railway network across the continent from Ankh-Morpork and there are many parallels between Discworld and Roundworld in this regard. Both have eager railway fans keeping track of the trains they see - trainspotters. Both drive a last golden spike like at Craigalachie in the Rocky Mountains when the Canadian Pacific was completed across Canada. Both have their armoured cars to ward off bandits, both have the confusion of different gauged lines, Both have problems when crossing swampy ground, steep terrain and shaky bridging. Both had first, second and third class carriages and dedicated areas for single ladies. Both had the common misconceptions about what railways would bring; miscarriage of livestock, moral degredation of the citizenry as well as railways becoming a great equalizer of class. Both led to the rich buying vacation homes in the country and seaside, to commuters taking the train to work, to suburbs being built close to the tracks and stations, to daytrippers going to the seaside for the day or for vacation, etc. Pratchett continues a theme common to many of his novels, about the influence of fundamentalism over normal society when people do nothing to prevent it. In this novel, the Grags (the equivalent of the mullahs in fundamental Islam, ultra-orthodox rabbis in Judaism or the religious right in the USA) try to prevent the dwarfs from moving with the times and accepting modern ways by murdering the bride in a mixed marriage, burning the communication towers that give Uberwald access to the outside world and by trying to stop the introduction of the railway. The fact that the grags and their followers live in caves, the grags influence impressionable young men to do their dirty work while themselves staying far from harms way and view every innovation and new idea as an abomination before their god Tak resonates most strongly with the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Popular References The book was announced as Raising Taxes, during a tour for Making Money, but the name was later changed. Vetinari, like many 20 century dictators is keen on not only getting the railways running on time but expanded throughout the realm and beyond. A common remark about tyrants and dictators on Earth, at least since 1900, has been At least he got the trains running on time. This was famously said about Benito Mussolini, who in fact couldn't keep the trains on time - there are limits to a Fascist dictator's power, and Benito discovered his was the Italian state railway. Adolf Hitler didn't have to exert himself - German state railways already ran to an incredible peak of efficiency without Nazi help. Dick Simnel the inventor of the train is based on Fred Dibnah (1938-2004) from Bolton, Lancashire, who was a steeplejack and mechanic and the epitome of the old-time Northern engineer. He became a celebrity on TV, initially for breath-taking steeplejacking, with a commentary delivered in a wry self-deprecating Northern voice, often hanging upside down a couple of hundred feet up. In later life, he had a second career restoring and driving old steam engines, which he loved and TV series were made about this aspect of his life. Although many of Dick Simnel's words stem from around northern England the key word he uses 'gradely' for 'great' or 'brilliant' identifies him with Lancashire and his other expressions and his flat cap link him to Fred. Vetinari outlines his parental lineage which was first mentioned in Reaper Man. The city state of Ephebe where camels can do logarithms on their toes suggests the city of Alexandria with its library and Ephesus in ancient Greece (present Turkey) - both centers of learning in the ancient world. An ephebe originally was Greek for a young man entering military training but now has come to mean a young man between 18 and 20 entering manhood. The Pass of WIlinus is the entrance on the border of Uberwald just as Vilnius (the capital of Lithuania) is an entrance on the border to Russia. Since 'w' is pronounced 'v' in German and other Eastern European languages, there is a play on the word 'villainous' as well. Vox populi vox deorum translates from the Latin as "the voice of the people is the voice of the gods." Albrecht Albrechtsson's s action in the heated debate when he smashes his axe into the middle of the conference table mirrors Sam Vimes' actions in the Rats Chamber during the last major period of dissent. Since the Blackboard Monitor is well known and respected among Dwarfs, Albrecht's actions are clearly a large hint to the rest of the dwarfs. Pratchett says that Captain Angua (was) the most notable werewolf in the Watch which hints that perhaps there may be more than one now. All (as in, 'is that all Jolson") Jolson's name is based on Al Jolson, the American singer and actor who at the peak of his career was dubbed 'the world's greatest entertainer.' In this and other Disworld novels he is a chef. The derogatory reference to dwarfs as "lawn ornaments" is an obvious comment on the Round World tendency to place plastic figures of the seven dwarfs on one's lawn as a decoration. Pratchett uses this term throughout his works. Detritus's crossbow which fires multiple arrows is called the "Piecemaker" which is a take off on the Colt 45 Army revolver known as the Peacemaker. The Scone of Stone is an obvious reference to the Stone of Scone or Stone of Destiny on which the Scottish stone and later British rulers are crowned. Both it and its Round World counterpart were stolen by nationalists to return it to its rightful place in its country of origin. The name makes a natural parody for the dwarfs since a scone is a type of baked good and they make stone hard bread to use as food and weapons. The Round World version is kept in the ruins of Scone Abbey in Scone, Scotland. The actual theft is referred to as a stupid crime because as Vimes points out, "other people would notice if you had a great rock up your jumper." In the Round World, the thieves did in fact get away without being caught. It is clear that, even though most of the dwarfs now live in Ankh-Morpork rather than in Uberwald, those leaders in Uberwald believe its rightful place in Schmaltzberg, not in Ankh-Morpork as some of the new breed of dwarfs would wish. Schmaltzberg means "Fat mountain" in German. Schmaltz is rendered chicken or goose fat. It has also come to mean excessively sentimental or cheesy. Not surprising given that the novel is about railways, there are regular references to E. Nesbitt's Railway Children book and the BBC TV series in the novel. Thekey reference is the one where a group of children flag down the Iron Girder with their pinafores to warn them about an avalanche which has blocked the line. Unlike Nesbitt's children, Pratchett's children have engineered the landslide themselves so that they can be heroes by stopping the train in time. Pratchett also slips in a play on words here, calling the children 'kids' which makes the reader not only think about the Railway children, but also about the old song called Bill Grogan's goat (kid) popluarlized by Burl Ives: Bill Grogan's Goat There was a man, who had a goat, He loved that goat just like a kid. One day that goat was feeling fine, He ate red shirts right off the line, The farmer grabbed him by the back, And tied him to the railroad track, Just then a train came into sight, And that poor goat near died of fright, He heaved a sigh as if in vain, Coughed up the shirts, and flagged the train. Later on Pratchett talks about "lonely goatherds' beside the track, an obvious reference to the Rogers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music" ''and the song "''The Lonely Goatherd". ''Pratchett says that there was definitely "an out-break of dirndls". A dirndl is a traditional feminine dress worn in Austria, South Tyrol and Bavaria. It is based on the traditional clothing of Alps peasants and was worn in the ''Sound of Music. Category:Novels Category:Moist von Lipwig series Category:Novel stubs Category:Books Category:Books (real-world)